dogs & kids

of course, having dogs and/or kids helps to meet people. jj has already created a social life for us. we were hoping maynard would introduce us to many french dog owners. however, the area we live in, near the eiffel tower, for whatever reason, has a lot of americans. i have already met many american dogs and their owners.

it’s easy to make friends with expats here. they have the commonality of being a foreigner and having made the conscious effort to live in paris. “paris is a filter” for a certain kind of person. in addition, they don’t have the time demands of family and longtime friends that has filled the day to day life of locals. expats have more open slots for new people in their lives.

one lady i met at the champs de mars on the first day walking maynard, is a journalist and author who has written 13 books. her latest book explores the relationship to the peripheral people in your life and their impact on you. in fact, they do matter and can change your life. it is an interesting study. she doesn’t actually live in paris, but comes for extended periods to visit. she wanted to meet more english speakers here, since her french is not too good. she is a new yorker living in northampton, mass, home of my alma mater, so i told her about a college alumnae association meeting that i was going to, with a lecture given by a journalist who follows the media.

she told me she was giving a talk on her book, at the american library. the american library is private english language library. to borrow books, you have to buy a membership. it is nearby, on the other side of the champs du mars and eiffel tower. so, i took a velib bike and went to her talk, which was very enjoyable. when i left, it was around 9pm and a clear, crisp evening. i got another bike and was riding across the champs du mars past the eiffel tower which was sparkling with its hourly special light show. it was another conscious moment of “i’m in paris!”.
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